KIA customs officials arrest three for smuggling gold

Bengaluru: Customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport arrested three-person in three different gold smuggling cases and seized a substantial amount of gold.

The arrests were made between Thursday evening and Friday night following tip-offs by the customs’ air intelligence unit.

In a first case, which was reported on Thursday, the customs officials seized around 2.37 kg of crude gold from a Dubai return passenger identified as Mohammed (25), a Kodagu native. He had concealed the gold in the paste form in a knee cuff. Upon melting, the gold weight reduced to 1.43 kg, which is worth around Rs 73 lakh.

In the second case on Friday, a native of Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, was arrested for allegedly smuggling a 150-gram gold chain worth around Rs 7.78 lakh on his way back from Kuwait.

The third case involved a Honnavar resident, Mohammed Ashraf, on Friday. Ashraf, who was flying out of Dubai, had hidden gold paste in his slippers. The paste weighed about 399 grams and upon melting, officials were able to retrieve around 250 grams of gold, worth around Rs 12.77 lakh.